DNS stands for Domain Name System, it is one of the most important parts of the Internet that lets us connect to websites by matching human-readable domain names (like https://www.adroitacademy.com) with the unique ID of the server where a website is stored.

The DNS system can be defined as an internet phonebook. It lists domain names with their corresponding identifiers called IP addresses, instead of listing people's names with their phone numbers. When a user enters a domain name like adroitacademy.com on their device, it looks up the IP address and connects them to the physical location where that website is stored.

How does it work

The internet is a huge network of computers. Each device connected to the internet should be assigned a unique IP address that helps other computers identify it. 

DNS or Domain Name System resolves those domain names into IP addresses and points our device in the right direction.

A domain name and its matching IP address is called a DNS record.

Assume you want to visit the site beta.example.com

• Start typing beta.example.com in the address bar of your browser and hit Enter. If the DNS records are found in your computer's  DNS cache, then the rest of the DNS lookup is skipped and you will be taken directly to beta.example.com.
• If no DNS records are found, then a query is sent to your local DNS server. Typically this is your Internet provider's server and is often called  a resolving nameserver..
• If the records are not cached on the resolving nameserver, then the request is forwarded to what is called a root nameserver to locate the DNS records. Root nameservers are designated servers around the world that are responsible for storing DNS data. Once the DNS record is found on the root nameserver, it is cached by your computer.
• Now that the DNS records are located, a connection to the server where the website is stored will be opened and beta.example.com will be displayed on your screen.